Fire-escape.



J. L. SMITH.

FIRE ESCAPE.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII AR. 23, 1914. 1, 1 1 5,603. Patented Nov. 3, 1914.

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2 J4 J1 J' g '9 Jamw'LJmz'i/L Inventor ,Actorneys J. L. SMITH. FIRE ESCAPE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 23, 1914.

Patented Nov. 3, 1914.

(fa/22ml. 82122272,

Inventor y I r I Attorneys THE NORRIS PETERS C FHOTO-LITHQ. WASHINGTON. D4 (5 I To all whom it may concern unirnn s'r T is PAT NT OFFICE.,

JAMES L. sii rrinoii rn-Iiion'roii, nnii iiii. J

r nn-nsoiiin.

Be itknownthat I, JAMES L. Siriiii, a citizen of the United States, residing at Princeton, in the county of Gibson and 5 State of Indiana, have inventeda new and I useful Fired lscape, of which the following is a specification. y p The device forming the sub ect' matter of this application is a fire escape, and one object of the pre'sentinvention is toprovide a device of this'type in which the flexible element may, be reversed readily, end' for end, so that a slidingfriction member, mounted to move on the flexible element and carrying a support need not be returned idly along the flexible element each time that a person desires to descend. 1

. Another object of th'einvention is to provide the friction member andso construct the same that the rate of descent may be regulated. Another object of the invention is to provide a novel form of reversible friction member.

Itis within the scope of the inventioirto improve generally and to enhance the utility of devices of that type to which the present invention appertains.

l/Vith the above and other obj ectsin view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction.hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment offthe invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of thdlllVQIltlOil.

In the accompanying draw1ngs:F1gure 1 shows the inventionin elevation, applied to a building; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the friction member; Fig. 3 is a trans Verse section of the friction member on the line 33 of Fig. 2; Figs is a perspective depicting the support.

In carrying out the invention there is provided a friction member denoted generally 7 by the numeral 1 and shown most clearly in I Fig. 2 of the drawings, the fr ct on member 7 1 preferably being in the form of a tube,

which may be made of aluminum or other light material for the sake of portability. The friction member 1 is provided with reduced ends 2 defining shoulders 3. Nuts 5 are threaded onto the extremities of the friction member 1 and between the nuts 5 Specification of Letters'l atent. v

Application animal-c1123, i914. ser1a1iv ,s2e,72i.

and theshoulders 3 collars. 1; are journaled. Pivot elements 6, Whichmaybe screws, enter opposed; portions of the collars a, the pivotelem'ents 6' being connected to clevises 7 fihecollars t-a'nd the clevises 7 may be described as swivels journaled for rotation on theends of theifriction member 1. Ad jacent its ends the friction .n'iember 1 is equippedwith openings 8 which maybe located in diagonally disposed relation with le se Nbve, 19 14.

each other as Fig. 2 will most clearly show. A flexible element 9 wh ch may be a rope,

provided. The flexible element '9 passesinto tion of the flexibleelement 9 being wrapped. as indicated at 10 around the exterior of the friction member 1, the flexible element thence being carried; inwardly through the other opening 8flinto the bore of the friction member 1 and passing out of the friction member at the extremity thereof, 1 all; of i which will 'be clearly understood from Fig. 2. v p i I The flexible element 9 may be wrapped any desired number of times around the outside of the friction'inember l and in this way, the rate of descent maybe regulated and adjusted. Any suitable means maybe provided for connecting either end of the flexible element 9 with an overhead support. If desired, eyes 11 may be protatably.

held upon the ends of the flexible element 9, as indicated in 1. One of these eyes '11 maybe connected with a hook 21 located upon the sideportion of the window frame 22 or elsewhere, but' if no hook 21 is present, it is obvious that the upper end of the flexible element 9 may be extended through the window and be tied or secured to any object inside of the building.

The invention includes a support'or harness 12 which may be of any form, the har- Y ness being shown most clearly in Fig. 4. The support may comprise a belly band 14 inwhich is interposed a buckle 15. end of a perineal strap 17 is looped as shown at 16 around the belly band 14, the other which also incloses the bellyban'd. A buckle 19 may be interposed in the strap 17 and a securing device, such as a snap 20, may be connected with theloop 18. I

In practical operation, presupp'osing that One vv end ofthe strap 17 terminating in a loop 18 l the flexible element 9 is mounted on the:

building by means of the hook 21 or many other appropriate manner, the belly band 14 engaged around the body of the user and the perineal strap 17 occupies its obvious position. The snap 20 is then engaged in oneof the clevises 17 as shown in Fig. 1. The lower, depending end of the flexible element 9 may be bent upwardly across the lower end of the friction tube 1 and thus be held by one hand of the operator, the other hand of the operator grasping the friction tube 1 and holding the \vrappedportion 10 of the flexible element closely thereagainst. In this manner the speed of descent is regulated.

After one person has descended, another person desiring to use the device hauls the flexible element 9 up until the friction member 1 is within reach. Then the flexible element 9 is turned end for end, to avoid sliding the friction member 1 the full length of the flexible element 9 with a corresponding loss of time. The snap 20 upon the support 12 is then unhooked from the clevis 7 at one end of the friction member 1 and is connected with the clevis 7 on the other end of the friction member, whereupon the device is in condition for further use. i

Summed up briefly, the operation of the structure is as follows :.After the device has been used once, the flexible element 9 is drawn up and turned end for end, and the harness or support 12 is unhooked from one end of the tube 1 and is hooked onto the other end of the tube.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is z- A fire escapeembodying a tube having openings in its side wall adjacent its ends; a flexible element wound about the outside of the tube and having its ends extended inwardly through the openings into the tube and outwardly through the ends ofthe tube; collars journaled on the ends of the tube; bails pivoted to the collars; securing rings on the ends of the tube and coactingwith the collars, th ends of the tube being disposed between thesecuring rings and the flexible element; the tube being provided with shoulders located between the collars and the openings and constituting means for holding the collars spaced from the openings.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signa ture in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES L. SMITH;

Witnesses f CARYL V. RICE,

H. E. HATCH,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents,

" r Washingtomi). C. 

